Learning To Fly
by Riku Moriyama
Summary: My version of the life of our favorite Fullmetal soldiers, before Ed and Al come along. Hughes, Mustang and Hawkeye in all their awesome glory! ON HIATUS. Sorry everyone!
1. A friend sure is a pain sometimes

**Learning to Fly**

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit to use in my story.

Ok everyone; this is my first story so be nice! I'll accept any comments on how to improve my story, and if anyone spots something stupid like a spelling mistake, please tell me! Thanks a lot!

-In case you missed the summary, this story takes place years before _Fullmetal Alchemist _begins. There's no Ed, Al or Winry. It's just my version of how our favorite military characters got to where they are today. -

(When the font _goes like this, _a character is thinking.)

**Chapter One- **A best friend sure is a pain sometimes!

* * *

It was a cool crisp day, mid November. Leaves were forming small piles on the ground and the occasional breeze here and there would make the leaves fly back up again, much to the annoyance of those trying to rake them. It was a beautiful scene. One man however, was not feeling any bit of joy at this particular time. Another man, who at the moment was dragging the first one towards at large, white building accompanied him. The men who were raking stopped and listened in on the strange conversation.

"I can't do it! I'm not ready! You're just trying to humiliate me aren't you!"

"Come on Roy, I know you can do it! I'll even re-explain what we're here to do. We go into Central, and you pick up the forms for the Alchemy Exam. Then we walk out. Easy Peasy!"

The man named Roy, still struggling to get out of the other man's grip choked out,

"That's real easy to say for you Hughes! You're not taking any exam! You just get to apply! What if I fail? If I don't fail, what if I get a secretary that's an ugly hag? I NEED beautiful women Hughes! Don't make me do this!"

Roy continued to prattle about anything and everything that had to do with his exam, while the man called Hughes (who was now carrying Roy at this point) continued to walk towards the large imposing doors.

A few minutes (and several breakdowns) later, Hughes got to the front of the door. Roy had finally composed himself and was now standing on his own. He straightened his collar and glared at Hughes before saying in a very calm voice,

"Ok listen Hughes. We're just walking in and walking out. Don't talk to anyone, don't make eye contact, don't even tie your shoes. We are here for the Alchemy Forms and nothing else. We have to make a good impression, really show that we're serious about this. Got it?"

Hughes gave him a very serious look, and replied,

"Right. I understand how important this is for you. You're finally getting your chance to join the military, and hopefully move quickly through the ranks. I won't spoil that for you."

Roy, looking rather surprised in the sudden mood change in his usually bouncy friend, gave him a small smile. Just as he reached for the handle of the door, Hughes stepped in front of him.

"Let me get the door for you. After all, you're practically the Fuhrer already!"

Looking even more surprised, and suddenly realizing that something bad was going to happen, Roy reached out to stop Hughes. Alas, the thought came too late, and Hughes had already thrown open the door. All poor Roy could do was try and vanish as his "great" friend Hughes ran inside and started talking animatedly to the secretary sitting at a desk.

"Hello Miss! Nice to meet you! This here's my friend Roy Mustang! Remember that name cuz he's gonna be the Fuhrer someday! We're just here to get some Alchemy Exam Forms if you don't mind; yup he's an Alchemist! I'm Maes Hughes by the way and…Oh yeah! I almost forgot!"

With this he paused in his introduction to run over to the speechless secretary to whom he shoved a picture right under her nose. Giggling and blushing slightly, he pointed to the young woman smiling in the shot and said,

"I'm flattered by your feelings Miss, but you see I've already met the love of my life! See that beautiful goddess in the picture? That's my breathtaking girlfriend Gracia! I'm telling you, we're gonna get married and live in a huge house and have 12 children!" He hugged the picture and spinned around the room, all while saying,

"I'm such a lucky guy! I'm such a lucky guy! I'm such a"- he stopped in mid-spin and grabbed some forms off her desk.

"These looks like the Alchemy Exam Forms! I'll just take one if these you don't mind, thank you!"

Without waiting for an answer, Hughes skipped over to where Roy Mustang was trying unsuccessfully to blend in with the wallpaper. He put the papers into Mustang's hand, and called out to the secretary,

"Thanks a lot for the forms! See you soon!"

With that, the two men walked out and closed the door, leaving the secretary wondering if those two were more hallucinations from her medication.

Once outside and walking, Mustang finally seemed to regain his voice and said in a choked, strangled whisper,

"You idiot! Now I'll be a laughing stock of the entire military! No one is going to take me seriously if they think I'm some sort of clown! What was the entire purpose of that? Ruin my career that hasn't even started yet!"

Mustang had crossed his arms and was breathing heavily, waiting for an explanation from his friend. Hughes looked at his friend and smiled.

"Oh Roy, you think I ruined your career? Jeez, that's the last thing I was thinking of doing! What do you think that secretary would have thought if you came in all serious and business, acting like you already own the place? She wouldn't like you! No one would! You would be hated and feared for your entire career! Is that how you want to ascend through the ranks? You've got be friendly Roy, and treat people nicely, or you'll never get anywhere. Laugh at yourself once in a while man! Besides"- he gave a small laugh and blushed-"You know I can't resist showing off the woman I'm going to marry! I'll do the same thing when I have kids!"

"So," - he said, looking at Mustang who had walked ahead of him, " do you forgive me?"

Mustang turned away from Hughes. He looked at the sky, then said,

"Listen Hughes. We've been friends since we were kids. You know it's my biggest ambition to become Fuhrer and change how this corrupt government works. Although I didn't really like your way of introducing me to the military"- He glanced towards Hughes,

"And as much as I think that you're going to take your job too lightly"- Hughes grinned and kissed Gracia's picture again,

"I also agree with your concerns about my attitude and me. Lets make a compromise."

"Hmm?"

"Anytime I get too worked over something stupid, show me a picture of Gracia, and remind that there's more to life then my job. How's that sound to you?"

Hughes pondered, stroking his chin. He suddenly brightened and shook Mustangs hand, grinning wickedly.

"That's a deal! I just realized that you just gave me permission, no wait, you _ordered_ me to show you pictures of Gracia as much as possible! A job like that couldn't make me any happier!"

After shaking Mustang's bewildered hand, Hughes ran down the pathway, away from Central.

"Where are you going?" Mustang shouted at the receding back of his friend.

"Gracia's!" he replied looking over his shoulder, not once slowing his stride, " I've got a date with her tonight! I'll take a bunch more pictures so I can show you new ones! Meet me in the Central Library tomorrow and we can figure out what the heck you're going to do for the exam. See ya!" Without waiting for an answer, Hughes turned the corner and was gone from sight.

Mustang sighed, knowing that he would never really get used to his friend's almost bi- polar behavior. He turned, and headed in the opposite direction, toward his dorm room, where he was planned to spend the next few hours studying alchemy techniques. _Lets see…_ he mused in his mind, _what kind of alchemy fits my personality?_ He stopped suddenly and an idea struck him. _Hey! If I learn Fire Alchemy, I can burn any pictures that Hughes tries to show me! _He smiled demonically, and as he headed for his dorms he thought to himself, _Oh yeah, fire alchemy here I come!_

---To be Continued---

--**Preview for Next Chapter**--

Mustang bites off more than he can chew when he meets a beautiful woman- that absolutely hates him! Who said Alchemy can solve all you problems?

Did you like it? I'm almost done with Chapter Two so stay posted!

Could I get some more reviews please? How am I supposed to be motivated to write if no one comments on the story?


	2. Never Insult a Hawk!

**Learning to Fly**

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit to use in my story. Don't sue me!

All right! The second chapter is finally up! Sorry it took so long, I've been really busy with school, and many other things…

-In case you missed the summary, this story takes place years before _Fullmetal Alchemist _begins. There's no Ed, Al or Winry. It's just my version of how our favorite military characters got to where they are today.

(When the font _goes like this, _a character is thinking.)

Chapter 2- Never Insult a Hawk! 

Roy Mustang awoke bright and early the next day, eager to start his training. He looked over at his roommate's bed, finding it undisturbed. It looked like Hughes hadn't come home last night. Roy smiled to himself and thought- _I guess he's having a fun time at Gracia's._ He glanced at his alarm clock and realized that he woke up about an hour before it was supposed to ring. He thought about going back to sleep, but what's the point if you're going to wake up a mere 60 minutes later? He was a morning sort of person anyway. Roy stretched, changed into his clothes, picked up his books and headed for the library, hoping to learn something impressive before Hughes met him there.

_ 25 minutes later _

Roy stepped into the Central Library and paused to look around, still amazed at the vast collection of books here on alchemy and perfecting your technique. Roy settled himself down into a little testing room. These were located at the back of the library. Their purpose was simple- if someone read about an alchemy technique and wanted to try it out for themselves, they could go into a testing room and experiment it there, so no damage would come to the rest of the building. The testing rooms were bare, just concrete floors and walls. This was to insure that the alchemists could use whatever materials they needed, and not destroy anything else of value. Roy set up his things and walked to the front desk. In order for Roy to perform alchemy here in the testing room, he had to let a librarian know that he was using the room. He walked to the desk and waited for a librarian to come. As he stood there, a woman carrying a large book walked over and placed the book on the desk. She came up to about Roy's chin in height, and had her long, blonde hair pulled back in a bun. Her light brown eyes were focused on some thought in her mind, which made her seem a little vulnerable. She was wearing a long skirt that hid her legs, but Mustang could tell that she had a dynamite body. _Whoa! _He thought, not disguising the fact that he was looking her over. _This is one hot librarian! _The woman, who had come out of her thoughts, noticed Roy's stares, lost the vulnerable ness, gave him a cold look and said in a surprisingly hard voice,

"Can I help you?"

Roy quickly put on his best "Mustang Charm", smiled, and said in what he hoped was a smooth voice-,

"You'll have to forgive me for staring ma'am, but you look so out of place here in the library! No one here but tough soldiers and alchemists! You have got to be the librarian here! Am I right?"

The woman's cold stare turned icy as she looked him straight in the eye and said in an expressionless voice,

"I'm afraid that you are mistaken. I am not a librarian here. I'm training to be one of those so-called "tough" soldiers that you see milling around here. I'm waiting for the _real_ librarian to come so I can return this book. If you don't mind, could you not stare at me like I'm a piece of meat on sale?"

Roy was extremely surprised that this small woman was in training to become a solider of the military, but he quickly regained his cool and replied suavely,

"Whoa! I'm sorry that I thought you were the librarian, but hey! Who could blame me? Who would think that pretty things like you would want to join the rough n' tough military?" He really meant this as a compliment, because the woman was very pretty, in a serious sort of way, but she wasn't buying his usually foolproof pick-up lines. Her frown became deeper and she started to walk away. Without realizing it, Roy did something that he regretted almost as soon as he said the words.

"You really should respect me lady! I'm a powerful alchemist you know!"

The woman, at this remark, stopped, turned around, walked back over to Roy, slipped her right hand behind her back and said in a calm, yet slightly shaking voice,

"I don't care whether you're an alchemist or the Fuhrer. It's guys like you that I just can't stand. How can you talk to a person like that, a person you don't even know? Do you think that you're better than me? I have to put up with people like you every single day, and I'll probably have to for the rest of my career! Don't try to talk about things you don't understand!"

Roy, not intending to insult her like that, and clearly not expecting this type of reaction, backed off immediately and tried to apologize,

"Uh…well, you know I didn't mean it like that, I mean…I'm not saying that you're incapable or anything…well, um…I'm sorry."

The woman, looking as shocked at her little outburst as Roy, took her hand from behind her back and placed it on her face, immediately regaining her blank expression said-

"I'm sorry for what I said just now; I'm sure you didn't mean it like that. If you're an alchemist like you say, that means we will probably see each other a lot. Even though I don't really like you that much, we might as well try to be civil to each other. My name is Riza Hawkeye."

Roy waited and looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to ask him his name. She didn't. Before he could introduce himself, and try to make amends for his actions, Riza had already turned around as an elderly woman finally came to the front desk. She smiled at both of them, completely unaware of the argument that happened seconds before at her desk.

"Hello dears. Can I help you?"

"Yes you can." Riza cut in front of Roy and pushed her thick book closer to the woman. "I'd like to return this book please."

The librarian's eye's widened in amazement. "But my goodness deary, you only checked that book out yesterday! You're finished with it already?"

"Yes. I found the book quite enjoyable, and it greatly expanded my knowledge on the subject. Do you have any more like these?"

As the librarian and Riza chatted, Roy glanced over the blonde's head to examine the book. The title read- **The State Military's Guide to Firearms**._ Firearms? Wait a sec. Does that mean this girl has GUNS?_ Roy remembered that Riza had put her right hand behind her back during their argument. Knowing that he could get a slap in the face for what he was about to do, Roy threw caution to the wind and leaned over to examine her lower back. Above a lovely behind, wrapped around her purse strap was a small holster, which held a silver handgun. Roy felt cold all over, and started sweating profusely. _This woman's dangerous! I could have been blasted! _

Riza finished her little talk with the librarian and turned towards Roy. She was aware of his eyes as they darted to her, then her gun, then her again. She gave the smallest shadow of a smile and said,

"I told you I was in training to become a soldier. What did you expect me to be using? Flowers? No, only a little handgun. But I'm sure that with your _superior alchemy skills_, you sensed I had a gun the entire time of our conversation! Isn't that right, Mr. Super Powerful Alchemist Man?"

Without waiting for an answer, Riza turned and walked away, heading towards the Weapons section of the library. This time Roy made no effort to stop her. In a moment she was gone, lost behind the stacks of books. Roy sighed and felt extremely relieved, glad that the psycho woman was gone, happy that he would never have to see or deal with her ever again. ( )

After telling the librarian his plans, Roy slowly walked back towards the testing room. As he passed shelves of books specializing in wind alchemy he glanced at his watch. _Oh shoot! _Hughes would be meeting with him in a few minutes! He had been arguing with that Riza Hawkeye woman for almost half an hour! He started running towards his room thinking, _Jeez! I've gotta get back there! I didn't even learn how to burn stuff like Hughes stupid Gracia pictures!_ He ran faster, hoping that Hughes wouldn't beat him there. He quickly turned the last corner and ran right smack into the shoulder of his friend, almost knocking him out. (Roy, that is. He's such a wimp sometimes…)

"Hiya Roy!" Hughes said happily, holding the dazed Mustang by his shoulders. "You know, we really should have talked more on where we were going to meet! I mean this place is HUGE! I was starting to think that I'd never find you man! Come on; let's head into your testing room!" Hughes dragged the still confused Roy into the small room. Roy finally snapped out of his little coma, and managed to mutter to Hughes,

"Hughes, if this library really is so huge, how did you manage to find me so quickly? I mean,"- he opened the door and looked around at the vast piles of books, then came back inside. – "you'd really have to know your way around here."

Hughes stopped straightening up Roy's pile of books and scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly.

"Wow, you can see right through me! Well, I got a little help. You'll be happy to hear about this! Some hot chick told me where the testing rooms are! (Not as hot as Gracia though! giggle) She really seems to really know what she was talking about especially about guns and stuff, so I invited her along to try and help train you!" Hughes leaned towards Roy and said with a coy smile- "I think you'll like her a lot Roy. I mean she just seems _different_ then other women! Your kind of gal, right Roy?"

Roy rubbed the new lump on his head, not even paying attention to what his friend was saying

There was a sudden knocking sound at their testing room door. Hughes and Roy both stopped and stared at the doorknob. "Come in!" Hughes said cheerfully, walking forward to open the door, ignoring Roy's lump wound completely. Hughes stepped out and talked to the shadowy figure outside the glass doorframe. Roy heard their conversation from where he was sitting-

"I'm really glad that you decided to help us Miss! I mean my friend really has almost no alchemy skills whatsoever!"

"It's really no trouble at all Mr. Hughes, I'm just glad to be of assistance for someone trying to pass that Exam."

_Well, _Roy thought nastily, _whoever she is, she sure sounds nicer than that **Hawkeye **devil! _Roy glanced up as the woman started to walk in. He had seen an attractive brunette give him a shy smile when he first came into the library. Maybe this was her! He put on a hopeful smile on his face to greet the nice lady that was so kindly going to help him. The smile slipped right off just as the woman suddenly stepped through the doorway. Both stared at each other in shock, unable to speak…then all three started to talk at once-

(Riza) You!

(Roy) YOU!

(Hughes) "Now who wants to see my new pictures of Gracia in her pretty dress? You know you want to! Oops! I mean YOU?"

Roy Mustang started flipping furiously through the nearest book, looking for the easiest way to set this woman on fire, while Riza Hawkeye quickly loaded her gun and wondered if one of her small bullets was enough to kill this annoying man. Hughes glanced at the two of them and said in a bright cheery voice-

"Alrighty then! Now who's ready for some training?"

---To Be Continued---

Well there you have it everyone, Chapter 2! Sorry about the crummy ending, but I was running out of ideas and brainpower. I know (and hope!) that you recognized Hawkeye when I first introduced her, and I know you probably got as tired as me, reading "woman" and "the woman" over and over again but thanks for bearing with it! I had originally intended for more with the whole meeting and fight between Mustang and Hawkeye, but I couldn't seem to put my ideas on paper. I'll fine-tune this chapter later anyway. All right! I'm setting up a criteria now! Now that the second chapter is up, I'm expecting at least 3 reviews people! Until I get those reviews, I won't work on chapter 3. I'd like to hope that more than 3 people have read my story…Show some courage and leave a review! Stay posted!


	3. What a Jerk!

**Learning to Fly**

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit to use in my story. Don't sue me!

The third chapter is up...what took so long? I am SO sorry for anyone that was waiting, I've been so busy with school and family matters, and I haven't much time to get on the computer...

_Last chapter-_

…Roy Mustang started flipping furiously through the nearest book, looking for the easiest way to set this woman on fire, while Riza Hawkeye quickly loaded her gun and wondered if one of her small bullets was enough to kill this annoying man. Hughes glanced at the two of them and said in a bright cheery voice-

"Alrighty then! Now who's ready for some training?"…

Chapter 3- What a Jerk! Both Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye sat across each other at the testing room's table, giving the other the evil eye. Hughes sat between the two looking through an easy Alchemy book. Even though Mustang and Hawkeye had agreed to this, it didn't mean that they were happy about it. But you know what Mustang always says: "A mad Hughes is a scary Hughes."

_10 minutes earlier_

Before Hughes had even finished speaking, Mustang and Hawkeye had already walked to opposite corners of their small testing room. Hughes gave each side a smile. "Is this the way to treat a new friend and coworker guys?"

"Friend?" spat Roy, giving Hawkeye a dirty glare. "The day I see myself friends with _that _woman is when pigs fly!"

"I believe that is the only thing I will ever agree with you on." Hawkeye turned and gave Mustang a cold stare. "I can not see myself being on friendly terms with such an ignorant person."

(Roy) "Ignorant? You thing I'm ignorant?"

(Riza) "I believe I just said that."

(Roy) "How am I ignorant?"

(Riza) "You don't think a woman should be in the military, do you?" She sighed. "What a narrow minded person. It really is quite sad."

(Roy, losing temper) "Oh yeah? That's it! I'll show you ignorant! Ignorant THIS!"

Roy lunged, fully intending to shake some sense into this annoying woman. Much to his surprise and embarrassment, Hawkeye saw this coming, gave a small grin, and easily side-stepped his jump, and so, instead of hitting Hawkeye, Roy hit the cold, hard floor.

"Ow!" Roy hurriedly sat up and tried to cover up his throbbing cheek. He glared at Hawkeye then growled to Hughes,

"See what I mean? This woman is dangerous and insane! She practically attacked me! Not that I couldn't take her in a fight of course but….She's a girl, and it wouldn't be right…"

Hawkeye's grin faltered as she heard those words. She looked down at the sitting Mustang and said in a very quiet, dangerous voice,

"Excuse me?"

Mustang, seeing that he finally reached a weak spot, grinned and continued his tirade.

"Believe me Hawkeye, I know women! I've dated enough to realize that most of 'em are weak and unable to make good decisions for themselves! They aren't really that intelligent, and I honestly can't see you firing a gun! You probably don't even know how to use that thi"-

**BANG!**

There was dead silence in the room. Mustang looked at Hughes, who had his hand on his head, like he was about to faint.

"Hughes? What's wrong? You look like you're going to pass out..." Mustang looked at Hawkeye, who had out her gun and had it pointed it right at Mustang's head. Mustang looked up and saw a small bullet mark right above his head. He gave a weak chuckle and said in a shaky voice,

"Hahaha...well, I can see that you missed your target. I'm still alive."

Hawkeye put the gun back in its hostler and said with venom in her voice,

"I wasn't aiming to harm you. I could have done that ages ago."

Mustang's pride as a guy being insulted more than three times that day was too much for him to bear. He stood up and started to walk towards Hawkeye, not really knowing what he was going to do, but heck! He wasn't just going to sit there and let this woman insult him!

Hawkeye, after securing her gun, started to head for Mustang as well.

Seeing that something big was about to happen unless he did something, Hughes snapped out of his little conscious faint and ran between the two of them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Alrighty! That was certainly something you don't see everyday! Miss Hawkeye, you have some great marksmanship skills! And uh, Roy, you really have great...alchemy skills!" Hawkeye smirked, glanced at the fuming Mustang and said,

"Does he really have great alchemy skills? The only great thing I've seen about him is that he's a great big baby!"

"That's it! You're going down lady!"

"Would you really attack a helpless girl?"

"You are so not helpless! And I'm not even sure that you ARE a girl!"

"WHAT?"

"You heard me!"

"Mr. Hughes, please step aside while I blow out this man's brains."

"I'll kill you before you can take out your gun!"

"I'd like to see you try."

"Well watch me!"

"**SHUT UP!"**

Both Mustang and Hawkeye stopped their yelling and stood awestruck at the sudden outburst of the normally quiet (Well, not really quiet, but you know what I mean!) Hughes.

"**I'm sick of this arguing! We are getting nowhere! The original idea was to help Roy here prepare for the Alchemy Exams! Hawkeye, I know you don't like Roy, but we really need your help! And Roy, stop acting like such a jerk to Hawkeye! Jeez! So immature! **Now who's ready for some alchemy?"

After Hughes's little intervention, all three agreed to the current situation that brings us back to the present. Mustang and Hawkeye sat across from each other as Hughes flipped through an easy Alchemy book.

"Ooo! Look at this!"

Hughes sudden voice caused Mustang and Hawkeye to awaken from their respective trances.

"What is it Hughes?" Mustang muttered, trying hard not to look at the glaring Hawkeye.

"Well, there's a whole chapter on Fire Alchemy, and this transmutation circle looks pretty easy. Why don't you try it?"

"Sure!" Mustang said a little too quickly. He glared at the stoic Hawkeye and said-

"I'm glad that I can finally show off my superior skills! If you will excuse me Hughes and...er...Miss Hawkeye, I need some space to draw the transmutation circle."

Hughes and Hawkeye walked over to a corner and watched as Mustang started scribbling out the design on the floor.

"You know," Hughes turned and looked down at Hawkeye with a sort of apologetic smile, "I know that he seems like a jerk right now, but when you really get to know him you'll"-

"Let me guess." Hawkeye interrupted, giving the drawing Mustang a disdainful stare. "When I really get to know him, I'll find out that he really is a compassionate person, who respects me and that he only acts like a jerk to hide his fragile soul from rejection. Am I right?"

Hughes gave her an incredulous stare before saying in an almost ashamed voice,

"Well...actually...he really is a jerk most of the time..."

Hughes looked pretty surprised after saying this, as if wondering why he was friends with Roy. Hawkeye saw this change in his mood and asked quietly,

"If he is as much a jerk as you say he is, then why are you his friend in the first place?"

Hughes paused and thought hard. Finally he looked over at the crouching Mustang and said in a slow voice,

"Roy is a really hard person to understand. Yeah, he's really mad right now, but that's pretty unusual for him. Usually he can keep his emotions in check, like you. The only people I've seen him lose his temper with is me of course, and the people he considers his equals."

"Equals?" scoffed Hawkeye, trying hard not to chuckle. "That man thinks all women are brainless buffoons!"

Hughes shook his head and gave her a half-smile.

"That's what makes him so hard to understand Riza. I won't say that he's a saint, but you have to really know him before you understand his inner workings. I mean"- he pointed to himself and said in a proud voice-"I've known him since 3rd grade, and he never lost his temper with me until 7th! You've barely known him for an hour and he's already lost it! There must be something about you that he likes, although I'm not really sure he knows what it is yet."

Before the surprised Hawkeye could respond to this comment, Mustang stood up, wiped the chalk from his pants and called over to the pair.

"I'm done. Come over here to watch this master alchemist conjure fire!"

As Hawkeye and Hughes started to walk towards Mustang, Hughes put a hand on Hawkeye's arm, leaned down and whispered in her ear,

"Just think of this. You've seen Roy lose his temper at me, right? If I'm so annoying, why doesn't he find a new best friend?"

Grinning, Hughes and walked towards Mustang, dragging the thinking Hawkeye with him.

"What have you two been whispering about?" Mustang said suspiciously, eying Hughes and Hawkeye with a little apprehension.

"Oh nothing really interesting Roy! Just telling Riza here about your preferences in underwear, taste in women, that time you got arrested, you know, the usual stuff."

Mustang sighed and ignored Hughes's comments. He turned to Hawkeye and said with a smirk,

"Now you'll see what kind of alchemist I am! I'm a bit of a pyro; fire's my kind of thing. Now!"- He crouched down on the floor and prepared to put his hands on the ground-"I shall make FIRE!"

Hawkeye, after giving his circle a quick glance, lifted her head at said to Mustang-

"It's not going to work."

"Well that shows how much you know about alchemy!" Mustang shot back.

He smacked his hands on the ground with a flourish and waited...and waited...and waited...His smirk faded from his face, to be replaced by an angry scowl. Blushing furiously, knowing that this was what Hawkeye had predicted would happen, started reading the instructions again, trying to find his mistake.

"Um...obviously the book made a mistake...I can't see what went wrong..."

Hawkeye stepped forward and crouched down next to Mustang.

"You forgot to draw the mark of fire in the center of the circle."

Mustang looked from his design to the one in the book. "I don't see any mark of fire..." he muttered.

"Then let me show you." Without asking, Hawkeye snatched the chalk from Mustang's hand and started to draw another circle. Mustang and Hughes exchanged confused glances as the woman finished the circle mere minutes later. She stood up and stepped aside to let Mustang through.

"Aren't you going to perform the alchemy too?" Mustang snarled.

"I am not an alchemist." She replied simply.

Mustang walked over to the new circle and crouched down. Imitating Hawkeye's quick glance at the circle, and her expressionless voice he said flatly,

"It's not going to work."

Hawkeye did not rise to the bait, and merely stared at Mustang. A little intimated by her penetrating stare, he quickly went back to the circle. He placed his hands on the circle, and waited for nothing to happen. Amazingly, as soon as his hands were on the circle, flames shot out from the ground and started to burn the concrete."

(Mustang) "It works?"

(Hughes) "It works!"

(Hawkeye) "It works."

Hughes turned to Hawkeye and shook her hand vigorously, all the while saying-

"Absolutely incredible! I can't believe you knew what to do! You should become an alchemist!"

Hawkeye gave Hughes a small smile and said,

"I'm flattered by your compliments, but it's not really a big deal. I'm not alchemist material. After all"- she shot Mustang a look that could kill-"It's just such BASIC alchemy, even a non-alchemist could figure it out! A GIRL non-alchemist none the less!"

Mustang tried to laugh it off, but he couldn't help from saying,

"Yeah you're pretty smart. I bet you can't get a guy because of that!

Looking highly offended, Hawkeye grabbed her bag and stormed out of the room. Mustang was happy to see her go, and said,

"Wow, glad that she's gone eh? What an annoying woman!"

Hughes sighed and gave Mustang a deep frown. Mustang saw the look and said,

"What? What did I do?"

Hughes headed for the door and before he walked out he turned to Mustang and said in a low voice,

"Maybe Hawkeye was right about you Roy. Maybe you are just a jerk."

He gave Mustang a disappointed look and walked out the door, following the direction that Hawkeye had taken. Mustang looked around the room, realizing that he was all alone, and the few friends he had were mad at him! He ran out the room trying to follow the path Hughes and Hawkeye took, thinking,

_What happened to training me for the alchemy exams!_

---To be Continued---

There you have it! Chapter 3! Once again, I apologize that it took so long. From now on, I'll try my best not to let the periods between the chapters be that long!

Man, Roy Mustang is a loser! I didn't realize it that much when I was writing, but he is really a jerk! I'm hoping to receive more reviews for this chapter. It took forever to get these ideas on paper, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I don't think I have to say this, but stay posted!


	4. Hughes knows Best!

**Learning to Fly**

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit to use in my story.

* * *

Once again, I am **extremely sorry **for how long I have taken with this chapter. After Chapter 3, I fell into sort of a writing slump. I was finally able to put myself back together after someone gave me a review out of the blue. (Thanks Wrath!) I went right to work, and now its here, and I'm very happy with it! Besides me putting out the next chapter, it's also my birthday, (July 3) so it's like a double celebration! Anyways, enjoy!

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**Chapter 4**- Hughes knows best! 

Roy Mustang ran through the many rows of bookshelves, frantically looking for either Hughes or Hawkeye. As he passed a section of books about transmuting radios he thought to himself,

_Well, I wasn't really THAT mean to her...was I?_

He thought back to the last thing he said to her...

_Yeah you're pretty smart. I bet you can't get a guy because of that!_

Mustang cringed as he remembered what he had said. His guilt intensified as he thought of Hughes's last words to him,

_Maybe Hawkeye was right about you Roy. Maybe you are just a jerk._

Mustang ran over to the Weapons section of the library, hoping to find Hawkeye reading some book on guns or whatever. No such luck. The Weapons Section was completely deserted. Undaunted, Mustang quickly walked to the Technology Section of the Library, thinking Hughes may be reading up on new photographing techniques for Gracia. However, this was just as bad as the Weapons Section. Not a person in sight. Mustang's hopes of finding either of them in this vast library were growing dimmer, but he refused to give up.

_I've got to find Hawkeye and apologize!_

_About 30 minutes later_

Mustang slumped into one of the reading chairs, his head in his hands. He had looked in every section at least three times, with no luck. He had even braved the Ladies Room (and getting several slaps in the face) for goodness sake! He glanced outside, seeing the sun slowly setting. God, had they really been in the library that long? It was no use. Obviously, he wasn't going to find Hawkeye here, and Mustang knew from personal experience that when Hughes ran away, it would be impossible to find him unless Hughes wanted to be found.

_I guess that I should leave, _he thought, looking at the doors; _the only thing I can hope for now is that I'll eventually run into Hawkeye, and apologize profusely for what I said to her._

Feeling less guilty now that he had made this decision, Mustang went back to the training room and picked up his books. Heading for the front desk, he saw the elderly librarian from before. As he walked past her to get to the door, thinking of a good apology, the woman stopped him by pulling his sleeve. His feeble apology ideas floated away as he looked down at the smiling woman.

"Yes?" he said, unenthusiastically, not willing to start up a conversation about books with the librarian.

"Are you Roy Mustang by chance?"

"Yeah...I am...?" Mustang said, wondering what the woman wanted with him.

"Well, I was told to give you a note deary."

"A note? For me?" Mustang said quizzically. Who would leave him a note in the library...unless it had something to do with Hawk-

"Did a blonde woman give you this note ma'am?" Mustang said eagerly, already imagining that she really wasn't that mad at him.

The librarian gave him a strange look and said in a sad voice,

"No, this note isn't from that blonde wonder reader. I saw her walk out about 45 minutes ago. She looked rather upset about something. Didn't even stop to check out the book we were discussing earlier. Such a nice girl..." she gave Mustang a stern look. "I hope you weren't the one that upset her, young man."

Mustang started to squirm and fidget, trying not to make eye contact with the woman.

"Uh...well...it was kinda like...I didn't really mean..."

The woman handed Mustang the note with a frown and walked away.

Mustang opened up the note and recognized Hughes's untidy scrawl immediately. The note read:

_Hey Roy,_

_If you're reading this, then it means that you've given up looking_

_for Riza in the library. Good! Jeez, did you really expect her to_

_stick around after an insult like that? _

("Hughes..." Mustang muttered. It was like the man was standing right next to him!)

_Anyways, I'm not really mad at you, just a little disappointed, but I_

_think that you already knew that. Riza however, is a different story._

_Even though she said she was fine, I could tell that she was pretty_

_upset over what you said._

(Guilt growing...)

_I saw her heading for the park, so you should go look for her there._

_Have fun apologizing!_

_Maes_

Folded up in the note was a picture of Gracia, beaming at Mustang. Resisting the urge to draw a transmutation circle and burn the picture, Mustang put the note in his pocket. After checking to see if the small note had anything else on it, Mustang headed for the door. The librarian called out to his retreating back,

"Women like flowers!"

Waving his hand in thanks, Mustang left the library and started walking down the steps. As he was passing a shrubbery, he spotted some wrapped flowers on the ground. Next to the flowers was the message-

Women love flowers!

Grinning, and wondering how Hughes could predict people like that, Mustang picked up the bouquet and walked into the park. He walked along the stone path looking at every bench he passed, hoping to see Hawkeye, but to no avail. Just as he was about to give up, he spotted the blonde sitting on the far bench, next to the pond. Mustang slowly walked up to the back of the bench. Leaning over, with the flowers behind his back, Mustang said quietly,

"Um...Hello Hawkeye."

Hawkeye looked up, startled from her thoughts and gave Mustang a cold stare.

"Hello Mustang." She replied stiffly.

Feeling very awkward and vulnerable with half his body hanging over the bench, he straightened up and gestured towards the bench she was sitting at.

"Uh...can I sit here?"

"If you feel you really have to."

Hawkeye moved over to give him space and Mustang quickly sat down. A few minutes of very uncomfortable silence passed. Mustang, not knowing what else to do, closed his eyes and thrust the flowers at Hawkeye, blushing furiously. Hawkeye's eyes widened as she took the flowers from Mustang, examining all the different hues of the plants. She gave Mustang a very small smile and some of her coldness melted. Feeling more comfortable now that some of the ice was broken, Mustang cleared his throat and began,

"Um, well...I just wanted to tell you that...in the library...I mean...well...you know...I was being a ...and Hughes was trying to tell me but...um..."

Hawkeye merely stared, not offering any advice on how he should apologize to her. Mustang grew more nervous as he rambled on and on, knowing that he was growing further and further away from any sort of an apology. Suddenly, Hawkeye stood up, cutting off Mustang's ramblings. Leaving the bouquet on the bench, Hawkeye walked over to the edge of the pond, and motioned for Mustang to come over. Mustang obeyed, wondering what she ws going to do to him. Instead of pushing him into the pond, which was what he fully expected, Hawkeye started to talk, watching ducks float by.

"Did you know that I've wanted to be in the military since I was seven years old? I loved the look of the uniforms, the way they paraded in the streets, and their message of freedom and peace to our country. No one supported my dream, except one person; my Grandfather. He was the only one who believed me when I said that I would become a soldier. He helped me grow in so many ways. One of the most important lessons he taught me was how to interact with people. He would always say- Elizabeth, always remember- to speak without thinking is to shoot without aiming. That is the lesson I have lived by all my life. Now that I think in depth about it, it seems like a mantra more suited for the Fuhrer than for a young girl. As I grew up, I realized that many people spoke without thinking of any sort of consequences from their actions. People like you, Mustang."

At this point she glanced over to Mustang, who was trying to sink into the ground from shame. Seeing his obvious discomfort, Hawkeye turned and faced him. Patting him lightly on the shoulder, she said softly,

"You know Mustang, when I first started out, I got a lot of insults because of what I wanted to become, and each one of them always upset me. However, as I grew older, I realized there will always be people trying to bring you down, and it's best not to let those types of things affect you that much. Besides"- she walked back over to the bench, picked up the flowers and walked back to Mustang,-"I haven't met anyone that wanted my forgiveness that much. What made you change your mind about what you said?"

Mustang looked at the expectant face of Hawkeye, waiting for an answer, and decided that just this once; he would swallow his pride and give a truthful answer.

"...Well...After you ran out, I knew that what I said was wrong, and I felt really bad...My Dad didn't show that much respect to women, and I guess that I inherited that trait. Anyway, I know now that you're different from other women"- she raised her eyebrows slightly-"I mean, in a good way! You're really smart and pretty and determined to get to your goal, even if it's difficult. What I said before...I mean...it was wrong and totally not true. I'm sure I upset you when I said that and...I'm sorry."

Mustang looked up from his hands and saw Hawkeye giving him the first genuine smile he had seen her give.

"I accept your apology...Roy. Would you like me to help you prepare for the upcoming exam?"

"I'd love your help...Riza."

"Good." The brief period of emotional Riza was gone; the soldier was back. "Because after today's display of alchemy, I see that you need a lot of work. We also need a way for you to do alchemy on the go; you'll never survive drawing a transmutation circle in a war. I say that we head back for the library; I have a book I need to check out, and you need several volumes on the basics of fire alchemy. We also..."

Riza continued to give Roy pointers as they both headed back for the library. Roy smiled, knowing that with Riza now on his side, he would pass the exam with flying colors. A sudden rustling to his right brought both of them to a halt. Riza pulled out her gun in a flash and pointed it at the bushes.

"I suggest that whoever is hiding in the bushes identify themselves now." She said flatly.

About 5 seconds later, a blushing Hughes appeared from the bowls of the bush, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Hey, you caught me! Don't shoot me please! I'm only a desk soldier!"

Hawkeye lowered her gun and sighed, putting the weapon back in its holster.

"Hello Hughes. Mustang, I'm going on ahead to the library. Catch up with me there boys."

As Hawkeye headed down the path to the library, Hughes nudged Roy and gave him a roguish wink.

"Hey man, you and Riza? I can certainly see that happening! She's a lot better that the other women I've seen you date!"

Mustang jumped away from Hughes, turning scarlet. "No way Hughes! Hawkeye and I are just friends, that's all! Besides, I just apologized to her like, two minutes ago!"

Hughes continued smiling, but didn't push the matter any further. He pointed to a tree about fifteen feet away.

"Well, kudos on the apology man. I had front row seats! I was getting worried when you started rambling, but you pulled it off! I couldn't have done it better myself! Headed back to the library?"

Grateful that Hughes had moved off from the whole Roy/Riza love thing, he cleared his throat and said,

"Yeah, we're heading back to the library to work my technique and stuff. Want to come?"

"Of course!"

Hughes put his hands in his pockets and started to walk with Roy towards the library.

_About 10 minutes later_

Roy and Hughes stopped walking to find Riza standing completely still, staring at the doors with a frown on her face. Concerned, Roy walked over to Riza and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hawkeye? You ok?"

Hughes walked passed the both of them and peeled a piece of paper of the doors. He read the note aloud.

"Library closed early today because of family reasons. Will open at regular time tomorrow. Sorry for any inconvenience!"

Hughes stuffed the note in his pocket and gave a cheerful grin.

"Oh well! Can't open the library with your eyes Riza!"

Riza seemed to snap out of her trance when Roy had put his hand on her shoulder. She turned towards the two men and said,

"Well, since the library is closed, there is no way we can help Mustang train for his exam. We should regroup and meet here tomorrow. Here"- she took out a pen and wrote some numbers on both Mustang and Hughes's hands-"This is the number to the telephone in the dorm I am staying at. Simply ask for me. I'll see you two tomorrow at about 10." Leaving no room for disagreement, Hawkeye gave the men a smile and walked towards the women's dorms on the left side of the grounds. Hughes wrote down the number on a slip of paper and turned to give it to Mustang, only to find him staring over at the retreating Hawkeye. Giving his friend a secret smile, Hughes slapped his friend on the back, saying in a joyful voice,

"Come on Roy, let's go to our dorm and get a good night's sleep. We wouldn't want to keep _Miss_ Hawkeye waiting tomorrow, now would we?"

Mustang finally snapped out of it and gave Hughes a sheepish smile.

"Yeah...let's go back."

The men walked to the right, towards the men's dorms. While Hughes started talking about the finer points of Gracia's cooking, Roy stared at the number on his hand, thinking about how much more beautiful Riza became when she had smiled at him...

---To be Continued---

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Again, sorry that took so long everybody! It's a little unclear in the book and anime if Roy and Riza have a thing, or had a thing. As far as I know, they just really care about each other, which I think is really sweet. Anyways, I already have a clear idea on where I want the story to go from here, but I need the reviewers help in one big thing that I'm planning on including. At any point in my story, does anyone think I should go into details on the Ishbal War, or should I just kinda skim over it? Give me your opinions! See you next chapter!

By the way, when Hawkeye says that line- to speak without thinking is to shoot without aiming, I got that from the Dixie Chicks song, "Not Ready to Make Nice." It was in their music video.


	5. I Hate Circles!

**Learning to Fly**

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit to use in my story.

Hey everyone! Just letting you know that I'm going on vacation tomorrow and I'll be gone for a week. I thought I'd update, so you guys have something to read while I was gone. Enjoy!

Chapter 5- I Hate Circles! 

_It was a beautiful day. The sky was pink, and so were the elephants that were walking around._

_Roy was picking some flowers in a field when he saw Riza approach, wearing a shirt and miniskirt made entirely out of leaves._

"_Hello Roy." She said in a soft voice._

"_Hello Riza." Roy replied, giving her the flowers he had picked. "I really like you, Riza. Would you go out with me?"_

_Riza gave him a big smile and said,_

"_Well I would love to, that is, if you didn't have to _WAKE UP."

_The smiling Riza changed into the normal frowning one pointing a gun at him._

_Her voice boomed across the field, sending elephants flying._

"YOU KNOW THIS WOULD ONLY HAPPEN YOUR DREAMS. IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP MUSTANG."

_One of the pinks elephants ran over and started swinging Roy around with his trunk saying in a joyful voice,_

"_Wake up Roy! Rise ad shine! Time to smell the coffee! Roy...Roy..._Roy? ROY! WAKE UP DAMMIT!

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Roy Mustang awoke with a start, finding no Hawkeye in a miniskirt, and the pink elephant swinging him around was actually Hughes.

"What the hell Hughes?" He mumbled groggily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced at his clock, checking the time.

"Why the heck did you wake me up at 8:30 in the morning!" Mustang threw the clock at the already dressed Hughes and sank back into his sheets, too tired for more arguing.

Hughes easily caught the clock and set it back on the dresser. He smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt and said in an innocent voice,

"Well, I though you would want to get ready for the library, that's all."

Mustang opened one eye.

"Why would I want to start getting ready for the library now? We're not going until 10!"

"Oh I know that, it's just I thought you might want to put some extra preparation in for a certain _Miss Hawkeye_, that's all."

Mustang shot up, suddenly wide awake and nervous. He looked at Hughes, who had a gleeful expression on his face.

"Wha...What are you talking about Hughes?"

Hughes walked over to Mustang's bed and picked up his pillow.

"Oh, I don't know. It's just that when I woke up this morning, I happened to see a certain someone hugging and kissing their pillow, saying things like...I like you a lot Riza! You're such an interesting person...It was pretty exciting to watch!"

Mustang turned a deep red and said in a stammering voice,

"Did you see or hear anything else?"_ Like when I asked her out?_

Hughes shrugged.

"Maybe I did...Maybe I didn't! Who knows?"

Mustang jumped out of bed grabbing Hughes by the collar.

"I swear Hughes; if you tell Hawkeye, or ANYONE else for that matter about that, I'll...I'll..."

Hughes smiled and winked at Mustang.

"You'll...You'll do what? Anywhoo"-he shook himself free of Mustang's grip-"You better get ready for the library! You've already wasted 15 minutes arguing with me!"

Hughes pointed at the clock. Sure enough, the hands now pointed at 8:45. Too late to catch any last minute z's. Mustang swore and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door. Hughes rearranged his glasses and said in a soft voice,

"I swear, I love playing with his mind!"

One Hour Later

"Ok Hughes, explain this deal again to me." Mustang said as they stopped outside the front doors of the library.

"Well, I promise not to say anything about that little dream of yours to Hawkeye. In return, you have to promise to develop all my pictures of Gracia for one week!"

Mustang cursed under his breath, knowing that there were probably hundreds to develop, but agreed to the deal. Both headed in looking around for Hawkeye.

"How are we supposed to find her in here?" Mustang said as they gazed around at the vast amount of books. As if answering his prayers, the old librarian from yesterday walked over and handed Mustang a very large, very heavy book.

"What do you want me to do with this?" said the surprised Mustang, shaking under the weight of the book. The librarian patted the book and said in a happy voice,

"I want you to give this to the blonde wonder reader; she never picked it up in her hurry to leave yesterday. She also seems much happier yesterday as well. I hope that was because you said something to her, right?" She gave Mustang the same stern look from the day before. He cringed under her gaze.

"Um, yeah, I...I talked to her."

The librarian's look of happiness returned as she patted the book again. "Well, give this to her. She's in the back, in the 3rd Alchemy room."

"Thanks a lot ma'am!" Hughes called back as they headed for the back. "What's taking you so long Roy?" He glanced back to see the Mustang still struggling with the book.

"Oh jeez..." Hughes muttered. "Come on Roy, I bet it's not that heavy." He walked over and took the book from Mustang. He then immediately fell down, crashing into a shelf.

"Not so easy is it?" Mustang laughed now watching Hughes struggle. In the end, they made it by each holding one side. Hawkeye was waiting for them at one of the doors.

"You're 15 minutes late." She remarked glancing at a bronze pocket watch.

"Not our fault!" Both said, motioning towards the book.

"Oh! That must be my book from yesterday. I'll take that off your hands."

Hughes and Mustang started to warn her about the weight of it, but stopped abruptly when she reached in between them and easily lifted up the book and brought it inside the room. The men were speechless. Mustang ran after Hawkeye and asked in a incredulous voice,

"How can you carry that so easily?"

Hawkeye simply looked at him saying, "It's a woman thing. Now do you want to learn or not?"

Mustang glanced back at Hughes who shrugged. All three headed into the room, closing the door behind them. The first thing that Mustang observed was the huge pile of books heaped on the table. A few looked short, but most looked like they had over a thousand pages in them.

"What do you expect me to do with all those books?" Mustang said, giving the volumes a dirty glare.

"I want you to read them." She replied flatly, pulling out a chair.

"I thought you said that we were going to work on my technique and circles!"

"We are. You have natural talent, but you have to refine that talent by learning all you can about Alchemy. From what I've seen so far, you need to learn about your circles and techniques before you actually start drawing them. You have to crawl before you can walk Mustang."

With both Hughes and Hawkeye watching him, he gave a heavy and dramatic sigh, settled down in the chair, picked up the nearest volume and started to read.

Three Hours Later

Mustang was exhausted. Over the past three hours he had been reading select chapters on Fire Alchemy and different kinds of circle techniques. He was learning a ton of valuable information, but it wasn't that fun. Hawkeye kept quizzing him on things he read, making sure he was absorbing absolutely everything that he was reading. If that wasn't enough, Hughes kept flitting around the room, interrupting them with stupid questions like, "If you get really good at your alchemy Roy, will you cook all the food so we don't have to use that stove anymore?"

After the initial quizzing, they moved on to drawing the actual transmutation circles. Hughes timed Mustang drawing the circles while Hawkeye pointed out errors that he made in his haste.

"There has to be an easier way of making these stupid things!" Mustang exclaimed, wiping the sweat off his face. He was drawing the arrays fine at this point; the only problem being, if he did make it into the military, he had to find some way to draw the circles faster. As Hawkeye had said the day before, he wouldn't last two minutes on a battlefield, drawing circles in the ground.

"I don't want to draw transmutation circles anymore!" Mustang complained, wiping the chalk off his hands. He crawled over to a corner of the room and started to bang his head on the wall.

"Well, unless you figure out how to make a portable transmutation circle, you'll have to make them forever." Hawkeye said, thumbing through her book.

Hughes walked over to where Roy was sitting, offering him an apple. Mustang shook his head. Hughes bit into the apple and leaned against the wall. As he enjoyed the apple, he started to talk to Mustang.

"You know Roy, if you want something; you have to work for it. That's the basic rule for anything in life. I mean"- he finished the apple and threw it in the trash-"If you want to know how to make a portable circle or whatever, you have to research it. Do you think an idea is going to come like that"- he snapped his fingers-"without any work?"

Mustang suddenly stopped his banging and turned to Hughes.

"Hughes, what did you just do?"

"I was lecturing you on life, what do you think I was doing?"

"No, not the lecture, I wasn't listening to that!" Mustang said, growing more excited by the second. "What did you do with your hands?"

Hughes looked at his hands, wondering where Mustang was going with this.

"I snapped my fingers..." He snapped the again to make his point.

Mustang snapped his own fingers, an idea forming in his head. Without a word, he ran past the bewildered Hughes and Hawkeye and started flipping through the nearest book.

"What are you doing?" Hawkeye said, quite surprised at Mustang's sudden enthusiasm to learn. Mustang continued flipping through random books. As he was searching he started to talk to both Hughes and Hawkeye, his voice growing more excited by the minute.

"Hawkeye," he said turning the pages of his book. "Is there anyway that someone could put a transmutation circle on a piece of clothing?"

Hawkeye frowned. "No, I don't think that's possible. If you could put a circle on something like a shirt and activate it, you'd just set yourself on fire! What would be the point of that?"

Mustang abandoned the books and started drawing furiously, still grinning.

"But what if you put it on something like a glove?"

Both Hughes and Hawkeye exchanged mystified glances. This time it was Hughes who spoke up.

"Well, if you put it on a glove, how would you activate the circle, seeing as your hands would be covered?"

Mustang handed them the paper, beaming like a little kid.

"How about snapping your fingers Hughes?"

Both Hughes and Hawkeye eyes widened at the drawing. Mustang was no artist, but the message was clear enough. It had three different pictures. The first picture showed a glove, with a transmutation circle on the back of the hand. The second one had the gloved snapping its fingers. The last picture showed sparks flying and flames coming from the fingers, ready to burn its target. Hawkeye looked at Mustang who looked extremely proud of himself.

"But," Hawkeye said, finally finding her voice, "Would it work?"

Mustang snatched the paper back from the two.

"Well I don't know!" he said defensively, "I just thought of it now! Anyway,"- he tapped his head with his index finger,-"With my brains, I know that it will work!"

Hawkeye sighed at the same time Hughes slapped Mustang on the back.

"Man, great thinking Roy! It could end up as a complete and utter failure, but we won't know until we try, eh?"

Feeling a little dismayed by both Hughes and Hawkeye's comments, but still having hope, Mustang motioned for them to sit at the table. Shoving all the books off the table and ignoring Hawkeye's look of anger at the fallen books, he set his paper on the table and started to make adjustments.

"Ok," he said, after making the corrections, "I think I know how we can do this."

Both Hawkeye and Hughes leaned in to hear his idea.

"The first thing we have to do is"- Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, causing Mustang to stop talking.

"Who could that be?" Hawkeye said, irritated at the interruption.

"I'll get it!" Hughes cried out, glad that he didn't have to sit still any longer. He jumped up and raced towards the door. Both Mustang and Hawkeye tried to get a glimpse of the stranger, but the position of the door and Hughes made that impossible. All they could hear was low murmuring made by Hughes and the stranger. Hughes closed the door, but Mustang could see a shadow on the other side of the door, which proved that the stranger was still there. Hughes walked back over to the table and sat down. He pulled a green apple out of his pocket, and waved it under their noses.

"Does anyone want an apple?"

"Hughes!" Hawkeye's sharp voice made Hughes drop the apple. "What does the person at the doors want?"

"Oh, that!" Hughes picked the apple off the ground and dusted it off. He patted Mustang on the shoulder and said,

"It's for you, Roy."

Feeling a sense of foreboding, Mustang got up and slowly walked towards the door.

"Hurry up Roy!" Hughes called at his retreating back, "He didn't look like the kind of guy that likes to be kept waiting!"

Mustang increased his speed towards the door. He opened the door and came face to face with...

---To be Continued---

Sorry I left it hanging like that! I didn't really leave it at a cliffhanger last chapter, and felt like doing one this chapter. Besides, if you think about it, there are only a certain number of people it could be, and it's not Ed or Al. Like I said before, I'm going on a one week vacation with my family, so when I come back, I want to see lots of reviews in my mail! I think I've made my decision about the whole Ishbal war and all that. I'm pretty sure that I'll go into a little detail, but not anything too deep. During the entire story, the war has been going on. I think that by the time Mustang actually gets into the military, the war will be going into its 5th year. It was a 7 year war, right? Anyways, now that I know what I want to do with Ishbal, I have another problem. The Alchemy exam is coming up! Should I follow it from what I've seen of Ed's exam? Or just create my own version of the exam? Who knows!


End file.
